McDonald’s, South Grand and Hummers

Apparently McDonald’s is now giving away toy Hummers in their Happy Meals:

This month McDonald’s is giving away toy Hummers — 42 million of them, in eight models and colors — with every Happy Meal or Mighty Kids Meal. That’s right: The fast-food chain that helped make our kids the fattest on Earth is now selling future car buyers on the fun of driving a supersized, smog-spewing, gas-guzzling SUV originally built for the military. Use the Ronald McHummer Sign-O-Matic™ to tell us what you think of this misguided marriage of two icons of American excess.

So this great site, Ronald McHummer, has a fun way to make your own McDonald’s sign. I thought I’d help them announce the new McDonald’s on South Grand that Pyramid Construction and Ald. Jennifer Florida lobbied so hard to move across the street to a site that once contained a large department store. Progress, St. Louis style.

– Steve

16th Ward Alderwoman Out in Front on Planning & Communication

16th Ward Alderwoman Donna Baringer has posted several items on the 16th Ward News section of the Board of Aldermen website. At this time only Baringer and Young (7th Ward) are posting online news about their respective wards on the site. It is unclear how the other 26 are communicating ward news to constituents, city residents, potential residents, existing businesses and potential businesses.

From the PDF of a print newsletter I can see that Baringer was at Francis Park this past Saturday (the 19th) to show off plans for revisions to the playground and asking for feedback.

In commercial news I can read a summary of the Shrewsbury transit charrette that I attended recently (see post) as well as a Hampton & Chippewa charrette that I was unaware of. A two-page PDF entitled a “16th Ward Retail Profile” is an excellent marketing piece for businesses considering locating in or near the 16th ward. Among the information included is buying power for the area relative to Lindbergh & I-44 and other retail corridors.

I’ve yet to review a new Starbucks with drive-thru recently built in the 16th Ward. My initial drive-by was not overly impressive as it had a drive lane between the public sidewalk and building. Still, I am impressed by Ald. Baringer’s willingness to get involved in planning issues, bringing in the planning staff and clearly communicating this information to the public. Currently Baringer is out front leading other aldermen, many of whom have decades of “experience.”

Baringer, elected in 2003, is still in her first stint as alderwoman. While the ward has not turned into a dense urban oasis during her term it is clear she is making a strong effort to move the 16th in a positive and more pedestrian-friendly direction. From my vantage point, Ald. Baringer is way out in front of all the aldermen on planning and communications.

– Steve

Comprehensive Planning Process for Soulard Neighborhood on Sept 26th

From Ald. Phyllis Young:

Soulard has changed significantly through the 30+ years I’ve lived here. The changes that have occurred have taken place without a thorough planning process, but they generally have been positive for the neighborhood. The efforts of small groups of concerned and committed individuals have paid off, resulting in changes such as the historic code revision. The code revision group spent much time and effort writing a thoughtful and sensitive document that has guided development on a case-by-case basis. The Soulard Housing Corporation made up of neighborhood residents, initiated a plan for the renovation and infill of the 800 block of Allen many years ago when that block was the eyesore of the neighborhood. Their vision is reality today, and their efforts continue. Each group has established a goal and worked to achieve it. All these have made Soulard the neighborhood that it is today.
A much larger planning process is in the works. In 2005 the City of St. Louis Planning Commission adopted the Strategic Land Use Plan for the entire city. This was the first time since 1947 that the city had taken a look at the uses of property, the areas where opportunities were available for redevelopment, those areas that should be preserved, and which areas should be commercial/retail or business/ industrial. You can check out this plan at stlcin.missouri.org/landuse. Of course Soulard was included in the plan.

Now it is time to take the next step and look at a comprehensive planning process focusing on the future of each neighborhood, including Soulard. Through this effort I hope that we can establish our goals for the future of our neighborhood and devise a plan of action to achieve those goals. We’ll also need to prioritize the goals and identify the resources needed to achieve them. We’ll need to look at zoning issues that exist in the neighborhood and address those. Parking is always an issue that must be addressed if there’s a need/desire for more retail. There are urban design issues in our neighborhood such as signage, public art, streetscaping, lighting, and many others I’m sure you’ll add.

The planning process will be led by the City of St. Louis’ Planning Department. Rollin Stanley, a Soulard resident, directs this department and has led many of these efforts throughout the city. He and his staff are gathering data that will be used to help make decisions during our sessions. The initial planning meeting will be Tuesday, September 26th. It will be held at St. Peter and Paul’s hall located at 816 Allen (the entrance is from the parking lot at 8th and Allen). The meeting will start at 6:30 PM so come and participate in planning the guidelines that will be followed in the next phase of our neighborhood’s development.

Soulard represents one of the 12 neighborhoods that is at least partially in the 7th Ward. While I am glad to see Ald. Young working with our city’s talented planning staff I wonder when we will see it spread to other areas. I know many in the downtown section of the 7th ward feel a bit ignored by their alderwoman.

Mark your calendars for Tuesday, September 26th at 6:30pm. I’ll be there after class to check it out.

– Steve

First Look at Hanley Station

As the new MetroLink light rail line to Shrewsbury (aka Cross County extension) is set to open in less than a week I stopped by the new station near Hanley & Eager (map). Oh boy, what a mess that area is. Traffic is horrible and the adjacent developments are sorely lacking good pedestrian connections. But, this post is not about the immediate station but a new project just a hop, skip and 4/10ths of a mile walk to the South. From the project’s website:

Hanley Station is a mixed-use, urban community development located in the heart of Brentwood, Missouri. Hanley Station will feature 150 contemporary condominiums, a 123 room extended stay hotel, 3 free-standing restaurant venues and 11,000 square feet for lifestyle/boutique shopping. The development is anchored by two 5 story parking garages which provide direct, multi-level, covered access to all residents. Hanley Station subtlety offers its residents and patrons a true taste of “new urbanism”, yet maintains the thick tradition of one of St. Louis’ most sought after neighborhoods.

“Urban community?” Parking garages serve as anchors? A “true taste” of New Urbanism? Hmmm, I wish they had elaborated on the “thick tradition” of the neighborhood! Sadly I don’t think the marketing person that wrote this piece has any clue what defines an urban area, what it takes to comprise a community and what new urbanism is really about.

That all being said, the project is not bad for what it really is — some high-end condos (based on cost per square foot) with some adjacent restaurant and retail space. Unlike other projects in the area, the developers are willing to mix some uses and pack quite a bit into the relatively smallish site. They’ve also warmed my heart by extending a public street from the Hanley Industrial Park through their site out to Hanley.

The Site:

Looking at the image to the right, North is to the top. The diagonal white line represents the new MetroLink rail line that is set to open this coming weekend. The actual station is just beyond the top of the image. And that distance, a mere 4/10ths of a mile per the sales staff, is the problem with this development. Actually, the development isn’t really at fault — the site is where it is relative to the new station through no fault of the developer. The problem is that people here will be adjacent to a wonderful mass transit system that can quickly get them to Clayton, the Loop, the Airport (Lambert or Midway in Illinois), downtown and beyond yet the ability to walk there is severely limited.

The developer is doing the right thing by making the site more dense and thus quasi-urban. They could very well have said the area as hopelessly devoted to the car and built another strip center. I’m thankful they did not as this is truly the first sign of hope in the Hanley/Eager area.

Over the next 10-20 years look for this entire area around this station to be completely transformed to the point you’d have a hard time knowing the area if you had been away. In 20 years this Hanley Station project, a pioneer in the area today, will look a bit lacking in how it relates to the street and public sidewalk compared to the newer projects that will get built.

In the meantime walking to Dierbergs, Trader Joes, Target, Best Buy or the MetroLink station are all a chore. The distance is very little but the environment does its best to say, “get in your car and drive.” Later this week I’m going to do a station by station review.

The Project:

Again, I think they’ve done a great job getting quite a bit onto the site. The two parking garages, each with room for 500 cars, are reasonably well hidden from the public streets. The 150 condos each have a balcony which will add interest to the area as people decorate these with furnishings and plants. People on their balconies will further animate the area.

Problems evident in this drawing are numerous. First, it is all very beige. However, one of the three restaurant spaces will be a colorful Houlihan’s which is relocating to this site from the nearby Galleria mall. The development has sidewalks but they appear like most suburban sidewalks do, as obligatory afterthoughts. They are indicating some relationship between the restaurant entrances and the main sidewalk along Hanley but we’ll see how that plays out in reality vs. colored pencil. The sidewalks themselves are an extension of the curb — pushed up against the street. Lack of on-street parking, both on Hanley and apparently the new Strassner, and a lack of street trees make the sidewalks the least hospitable they could possibly be. This is just one step above not having sidewalks at all.

Currently the two parking garages and the new street Strassner are under construction. While I could make some comment about the garages being built first this actually makes sense from a construction phasing perspective — on such a tight site with the garages in back they really must be built first. These will provide parking for all the trades on the remaining project.

The developer, MLP Investments, was also responsible for the mixed-use Kirkwood Station project that replaced the old Target in downtown Kirkwood. I reviewed Kirkwood Station as one of my very first blog posts back on October 31, 2004. Click here to view that post.

With construction just getting started I hope they will pay more attention to the layout of the sidewalks and consider the placement of street trees, guest bike racks, pedestrian crossings and such. MLP wants to do things right and relative to say THF Realty that did the grotesque Wal-Mart/Sam’s/Lowe’s across Hanley I’d say they are on the right track. I’m happy when I see developers heading toward a more urban model even when not required by code to do so. When they are done I’ll take another look and see how it went.

For information on the project see www.hanleystation.com.

– Steve

Loughborough Commons, Eminent Domain and Fairness

Today I was have a “conversation” about Loughborough Commons with another REALTOR® that lives and works in my area. Quick background, the Schnuck’s grocery store wanted to build a new building and create a big shopping center and in the process 12+ homes were bought out and razed. A single family held out — not wanting to move.

This is where our conversation turned to disagreement. We were discussing value — fair market value. He felt it was “unfair” of the family to hold out for a higher price on their family home than what was the “market” value prior to redevelopment and rezoning of the land. I countered that it was unfair they were being forced to sell something they didn’t wish to sell. Furthermore, I stated I thought it was immoral that Desco, Ald. Villa and the City of St. Louis forced this situation upon these families for an outparcel.

When a client comes to me and wants to sell their property my job is to help determine the best price for them relative to their debt, how quickly they wish to sell and what the market will bear. Some property is in more demand than others and prices generally reflect that. If you buy all the homes around me and then want mine I am going to be wise and recognize the value just went up. Developers know the “value” of that land is considerably higher than if located in an area not being targeted for redevelopment.

Developers often will offer 25% more or so above the normal residential assessed value but often this just approaches the true market value. They’ll use scare tactic arguments to suggest all development will stop if we try to curtail these practices but little evidence if offered to back up these claims.

Taking someone’s occupied personal home is unjustifiable. Sure, if it is falling in and they’ve been dragged through every housing court in town I’ll grant you an exception. But in terms of fairness I think preference should be given to home owners, not developers. I always wonder about the people that advocate for developer’s rights in such terms — how they’d feel if it were actually their home being threatened.

Fair is relative but what is fair to me is allow people to not fear their homes being taken away from them at the whim of a developer or sales tax starved municipality.

– Steve